Empress Teimei

Empress Teimei (貞明皇后, Teimei-kōgō), born Sadako Kujō (九条節子, Kujō Sadako, 25 June 1884 – 17 May 1951), was the wife of Emperor Taishō and the mother of Emperor Shōwa of Japan. Her posthumous name, Teimei, means "enlightened constancy".

Empress Teimei
Formal portrait, 1912
Empress consort of Japan
Tenure30 July 1912 –
25 December 1926
Enthronement10 November 1915
Empress dowager of Japan
Tenure25 December 1926 –
17 May 1951
BornSadako Kujō (九条節子)
(1884-06-25)25 June 1884
Nishikichō, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Died17 May 1951(1951-05-17) (aged 66)
Ōmiya Palace, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Burial22 June 1951
Spouse
(m. 1900; died 1926)
Issue
HouseImperial House of Japan (1900–1951)
Fujiwara clan (1884–1900)
FatherMichitaka Kujō
MotherIkuko Noma (concubine)

Biography

Sadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in Tokyo, as the fourth daughter of Duke Michitaka Kujō, head of Kujō branch of the Fujiwara clan. Her mother was Ikuko Noma.[1]

She married then-Crown Prince Yoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō) on 10 May 1900, at the age of 15. The couple lived in the newly constructed Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, outside of the main Tokyo Imperial Palace complex. When she gave birth to a son, Prince Hirohito (the future Emperor Shōwa) in 1901, she was the first official wife of a Crown Prince or Emperor to have given birth to the official heir to the throne since 1750.

She became empress consort (kōgō) when her husband ascended to the throne on 30 July 1912. Given her husband's weak physical and mental condition, she exerted a strong influence on imperial life, and was an active patron of Japanese Red Cross Society. The relations between the Emperor and Empress were very good, as evidenced by Emperor Taishō's lack of interest in taking concubines, thus breaking with hundreds of years of imperial tradition, and by her giving birth to four sons.

After the death of Emperor Taishō on 25 December 1926, her title became that of Dowager Empress (皇太后, Kōtaigō) (which means "widow of the former emperor"). She openly objected to Japan's involvement in World War II, which might have caused conflict with her son, Hirohito. From 1943, she also worked behind the scenes with her third son Prince Takamatsu to bring about the downfall of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō.

She was a Buddhist adherent who had the faith of the Lotus Sutra and prayed with the Shinto ritual ceremonies of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

She died on 17 May 1951 at Omiya Palace in Tokyo, aged 66, and was buried near her husband, Emperor Taishō, in the Tama no higashi no misasagi (多摩東陵) at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Tokyo.[2]

Honours

National

Foreign

Issue

NameBirthDeathMarriageIssue
Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa
(Hirohito, Prince Michi)
29 April 19017 January 198926 January 1924Princess Nagako of KuniShigeko, Princess Teru
Sachiko, Princess Hisa
Kazuko, Princess Taka
Atsuko, Princess Yori
Akihito, Emperor Emeritus
Masahito, Prince Hitachi
Takako, Princess Suga
Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu
(Yasuhito, Prince Atsu)
25 June 19024 January 195328 September 1928Setsuko Matsudairanone
Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu
(Nobuhito, Prince Teru)
3 January 19053 February 19874 February 1930Kikuko Tokugawanone
Takahito, Prince Mikasa
(Takahito, Prince Sumi)
2 December 191527 October 201622 October 1941Yuriko TakagiPrincess Yasuko of Mikasa
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa
Yoshihito, Prince Katsura
Princess Masako of Mikasa
Norihito, Prince Takamado

Ancestry

See also

Notes

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.